


Balance

by punch_kicker15



Category: The Good Place (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-12 02:27:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29127969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punch_kicker15/pseuds/punch_kicker15
Summary: Eleanor and Chidi discuss matters both lofty and mundane after a New Afterlife Council meeting.
Relationships: Chidi Anagonye/Eleanor Shellstrop
Comments: 12
Kudos: 29
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 6





	Balance

For Eleanor, the worst part of saving humanity was sitting through all the forking New Afterlife Council meetings.  Luckily , she lived with someone who paid attention all the time.

She waited until Chidi had settled in at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee.

“What did Vicki say about the Medium Place queue again?” Eleanor asked casually.

Chidi glared at her over his glasses. “You were daydreaming during her presentation again, weren’t you?”

“ Of course I got distracted! It’s impossible to listen to all that smugness for more than five seconds. And you always say that it’s rude to interrupt her. So everyone’s better off if I zone out and think about chocolate blackout chimichangas. They should totally be a thing, if they aren’t already.”

“You’re saying this is all Jeremy Bentham’s fault?” Chidi was trying for the mock-outrage tone, but she could see from the look in his eyes that he was trying not to smile. 

“The greatest good for the greatest number, babe.” She added, “He doesn’t get credit for the chimichangas part—that part’s pure Arizona.”

Chidi glanced at his notes. “The queue has been reduced by twenty-seven percent in the last quarter- Bearimy . Average time in the queue has been reduced by fifteen percent, and it would be thirty-three percent except for one outlier who’s been in the queue longer than anyone else.”

She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. “Who’s the, um, outlander? Is it my old boss at NasaPRO? Because I gave Vicki some  _ very _ specific material to work with on him.”

“No, he got out a long time ago. It’s Brent. Experiment Brent.”

“Ugh, him,” she said. “What’s with the hold up? Vicki’s obnoxious but she knows her stuff.”

Chidi looked down at the table, his lips pursed, and was quiet for a moment. Eleanor knew it wasn’t indecision. He’d finally gotten past that. The was just Chidi taking time to pull up everything he’d learned in centuries of studying philosophy and comparing it to his super-long and complicated afterlife evaluation system. It was like the time back on Earth when Eleanor had binged on Four Loko and trawled through five years of Paris Hilton’s and Lindsay Lohan’s tweets. Only Chidi wasn’t trying to win an argument with Madison about whether Paris had thrown more shade at Lindsay or vice versa. Also, Chidi wouldn’t end up outraged to discover that Four Loko had stopped adding caffeine to their drinks in 2010.

He finally spoke. “I think the crux of the issue is self-deception. 'Know thyself’ is one of the central maxims of the new evaluation system.”

“Yeah, I remember, Aristotle and Socrates were really big with that.” She felt a flush of warmth in her chest. It was  wack , but philosophy discussions were charged for her. It was an unexpected side effect of catching feelings for Chidi during one of them—maybe it was about Consequentialism or Utilitarianism or that super-extra guy who thought everything in the world was made of water. 

“Right, but that’s not the only reason it’s part of the evaluation process. As a practical matter, it’s hard to get better if you don’t have an accurate understanding of yourself. You need to build your better self on a solid foundation of truth. Brent is incredibly resistant to hearing the truth about himself, so he doesn’t see how much he needs to change.” He leaned back in his chair and sighed.

“Hey,” she said. “It’s not your fault he can’t find his ash with two hands and a flashlight.” 

“I know, I’m just thinking about the last time I saw him. I thought I was about to be tortured for all eternity, and the last human connection I had made was  _ Brent _ . You made an incredibly convincing demon, by the way.”

She winced. There weren’t any words that were adequate apology for torturing someone with lies. The little voice in her head had yelled its head off back then, and she’d had to ignore it.

He said gently, “You did what you needed to do.” 

“ So did you.” Only Chidi had been genuinely trying to help people, with no pretense or manipulation.

He took her hand in his. “You had the harder task. You knew what was at stake and had to play your part perfectly. I didn’t have the burden of knowledge.” 

She shrugged. “Some of us are just built for deception.” 

“We’re lucky that you were,” he said. “If it had been up to me--”

“We need both kinds of people. It’s like, for a blackout chocolate chimichanga, you need the hard, crispy chocolate outsides, and the sweet gooey insides. Otherwise, it would just be a plain old dry chocolate tortilla, or a shapeless pile of pudding.”

“You’re really fixated on those, aren’t you?” he said.

“Let’s have Janet bring you one, and you’ll see why.”

“Janet--”

Janet  bing -ed into the room, holding out a plate with the dessert of Eleanor’s dreams.

“Janet, were you listening to our conversation?” Chidi asked.

“Nope!” Janet chirped. “Eleanor was mouthing the words when she came out of the meeting, and I figured it was just a matter of time. Enjoy!” She  bing -ed out.

Chidi gave the chimichanga a skeptical look.

“Dude, don’t diss it before you try it.” She handed the plate to him.

Chidi cut into the chimichanga and took a bite. He chewed slowly with that impassive look he got when he was absorbing a new idea or  theory.

“How is it?” she asked.

He gazed at her, warmth and affection in his eyes. “You’re right. It’s perfectly balanced.”


End file.
